Pepper Design Blog

DIY Artwork: A New Map Board for the Bedroom

A while back I found this very cool mirror at a local refurbishing shop. The actual mirror was yellowed and discolored, but it had an ‘antique-y’ feel that I loved.

My first attempt to make it over was to create an upholstered magnet board for the future office.

I used the Aviary print in Robin teal from Calico Corners as the face for the new board and simply flipped the mirror over and painted with three coats of magnetic primer. I didn’t love the way the magnets held (I’d imagine 3 more coats might have done the trick!) but I loved how the board turned out and was very excited to put it to good use. (The above image is from a recent San Diego design show that I did a guest presentation at.)

But then Cali experienced one of those little earth shakers that caused zero damage to the house with the exception of my new magnet board. I found the mirror shattered and the fabric ripped the next day after it had fallen on it’s side.

So project #2 came about:

I don’t know if this map board will find it’s final spot hanging above my dresser (not propped as it currently is) in the new master bedroom or above the desk in the future office (renovation project #2 after the kitchen remodel), but I do love how it turned out!

Here’s a quick recap.

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{Before & After: Dresser Mirror to Map Board}

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Materials: Mirror with a sturdy frame (a picture frame with a back would work well too), corkboard squares or strips (from your local craft store, mine are from Michaels), map pins (found mine at Staples), spray paint, tack nails (1/2″ or smaller, depending on frame size), hammer, glue, scissors, photos and a map (I found mine at Papyrus).

1. Remove the back of the mirror from your frame and spray paint with two coats.

2. Organize your cork squares or cork strip (much thinner than the squares and sold rolled up) so that the final look of the cork on the back of the mirror is proportional on all sides. I prefer the squares but considered rolling the cork strip over the top for fewer seams (the rolled cork on it’s own might be too thin to hold pins). In the end the raw square look won out.

3. Cut your squares and clue to board, be sure to leave enough room for frame to sit snugly against backing. My mirror had an indent in the frame to securely hold backing on, yours might not and you could cover the entire backing in cork.

4. Flip the mirror over and tack backing back onto frame. I used small 1/2″ tack nails because both my backing and frame were thick and sturdy. You might opt for a staple gun or smaller nails if you have a thinner frame.

5. I attached the paper map to the very center of the board and printed photos from our travels for the edges (I love the look of the thin white line around the outer edge and had them printed that way by Costco). I then used map pins (pins with the little round balls at the end) to mark our travel destinations!

Red pins designated cities/countries Kevin and I had traveled to together, yellow were spots I had visited and blue areas that Kevin had traveled to.

The final board is a neat tribute to our travels and allows us to keep adding as we go.

I love the shape of the frame and how easy it’s been to turn an old dresser mirror into various forms of diy art – who knows, this might receive a glossy coat of red in the next year and end up in the nursery to mark Baby S’s big events!

Guest Post: Organizing Tips by Simply Modern Mom

When Tiffany asked me to take part in her “Simply Said” series by sharing a few suggestions for keeping celebrations simple yet classy and fun (think great decorations, cool themes and handmade details) I was delighted to share my tips & tricks. Tiffany in return put together a wonderful post on living room organization that I think you’ll all love, so without further ado, here she is:

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Hi, I’m Tiffany from Simply Modern Mom and I am excited to be here on Pepper Design Blog. Love Morgan and her amazing ability to make things look gorgeous all the time. My site, Simply Modern Mom is a place where moms learn and share ways to simplify their lives. I share tons of tips, photo tutorials, craft projects and lists.

As a mother of two girls age 4 and 18 months, my house used to look like this. Who knew two little girls could make a mess this big every. single. day.? Don’t believe me? They are in the pictures. Proof. And the mess even traveled upstairs and into other rooms. It wasn’t unusual for me to find toys in my bed, in kitchen cupboards and hidden throughout the house. Every inch of carpet was covered with toys. Ridiculous.

To put an end to this insanity, I got clear plastic bins. Shoe box size in a pack of 10. I organized the toys in each bin according to type. It’s soothing for me to sort things. I’m one of those weird people.

The rule in our house is each child can only have one bin open at a time. If she wanted to play with toys in another bin, the first bin must be put away. If she is good, sometimes I would spoil her by allowing two bins opened at a time. Oh. You cannot what a difference this makes. My kids learned to appreciate their toys and enjoy playing with them more than before.

Not only that, we purchased a coffee table from Ikea that holds all the bins below. It is nice to have the toys hidden and the play room is more visually appealing.

And yes, the play room has undergone a little makeover since the pictures taken at the beginning of the post. The play room is at the front of our house and one of the first rooms people see when they enter our home. I wanted to make it more inviting than childish. It is still a work in progress. At least it’s not cluttered with toys.

Thanks, Tiffany! What a genius way to corral in all of those toys!

Organizing with Expedit {and it’s pretty, too}

So I’m on the hunt for some very creative ideas with a classic {and favorite} bookcase by Ikea: the Expedit. I couldn’t believe what I found! There are some tremendously inspiring people out there with some awesome ideas for a piece that’s only $159 (and that’s for the largest size).

There are plenty of Before & Afters out there to demonstrate that with fabric, wallpaper, paint, baskets, bins… it’s the ultimate organizer.

From stacking one on top of the other as a creative room divider to lining a full wall to replicate a built-in unit, I’m pretty convinced the Expedit could hold it’s own in a craft room, dining room and kids room alike.

So great! A few more fun ideas (including an Expedit piece literally built into a studio apartment and a great design with picture frames and mirrors attached to the front) after the jump. Read more »